The Bible is a spiritual book. What should be your first step in understanding this book of books?
Transcript
[Darris McNeely] Have you ever thought that the Bible is hard to understand? A lot of people have. They’ve tried to read it, feel that it’s very difficult to understand. Every year people start reading the Bible through one of these annual bible reading programs and many do complete that. Others will get bogged down, perhaps, in some of the more detailed parts of the Bible that are a little bit more hard to understand and just give up. Well, don’t worry. It is possible to understand the Bible. And we’re going to begin a series of understanding the Bible here on BT Daily and what I want to talk about today is perhaps step number one of this. Very simple. As you begin to read the Bible, even before you begin to read the Bible, and every time as you pick it up to read it, pray to God for understanding. Pray for understanding, and God will answer that prayer. The Bible can be invigorating, inspiring, fascinating – it can be something that also can be a bit challenging in certain parts, there’s no denying that. But the key is to ask God for that understanding, even before you open the Bible, and He will answer that prayer to help you understand what you are reading.
There’s also other helps that you could use to pick up – Bible dictionary, a commentary that can add insight to scriptures. But if you’re just looking at the Bible, reading it for what it is, as God’s word to us, then pray for understanding first. And seek that and God will give you that.
There’s a psalm – 119, verses 33 to 40. Psalm 119:33-40. We’ll just read a few verses here. The psalmist writes this as he prays to God. He says, “Teach me. Teach me, O Lord, the way of Your statutes, and I shall keep it to the end.” He goes on – he says, “Give me understanding, and I shall keep Your law. I will observe it with my whole heart. Incline my heart to Your testimonies, and not to covetousness.” So again, even one who somewhere in the past, involved with writing the Bible, said to God, “Teach me and give me that understanding.” Make that your prayer, of understanding the Bible before you ever even begin to pick it up and read it. It will be something to make all the difference as you begin your journey into the word of God. Pray for understanding.
